It has been quite the weekend celebrating Capitol Hill Block Party ’13 this year, but I don’t think I would have wanted it any other way! Friday was completely sold out by about 6PM, but that’s no surprise considering that Dillon Francis, STRFKR, and Girl Talk being the major players of the night. I remember standing in line for my press pass that night when a young bro decided to swoop in front of me to ask the person behind the counter if there were “seriously no tickets left?” Um… yeah, that’s what sold out means. It amazes me that people still think it’s like some sort of a joke and that the girl behind the counter was magically going to say, “JUST KIDDING! I’ve got some extra tickets for you right here!”
Not real life bros.
On Friday night, I was able to check out the three popular main stage acts listed above and had a fantastic time with my friends! Earlier that week, Hannah and I debated as to whether or not we would try to get on stage for Girl Talk again after our stint at Showbox Sodo several years back, but by Friday – we had officially decided. Our game faces were on. My Keds were tied. And I was ready for just about anything.
Challenge accepted. Mission accomplished. Round two did, indeed, happen and it was so much better the second time around only because I was less dehydrated and knew exactly what to expect. I really couldn’t have asked for a better night.
We had an absolute blast dancing along to STRFKR Friday night and loved their costumes! Was this a shoutout to Space Girl? Probably not, but I do like the fact that we both own the same helmet.
After an exciting Friday night, I was relieved to find that Saturday had calmed down a bit. The two acts that I had wanted to see were The Flavr Blue – the group of our Yow Yow interviewee, Hollis, and Pickwick – a band that I have previously booked for! Because of my ties to both groups, Saturday was more personal for me and I wasn’t going to end the night without seeing the both of them.
Though I’ve listened to The Flavr Blue many times before, I had never actually seen them live and after witnessing their performance – they were probably my favorite from the entire weekend. Everyone in the audience was engaged and energized with their enlarged glow sticks and the group made sure they did their part on involving the crowd. Hollis blew me away. Not only is she incredibly gorgeous and owning with her stage presence, she is also super talented. I think for someone that has collaborated with Macklemore, it can be easy to ride on the coattails of another artist, but Hollis has dispersed her attention evenly to all of her projects no matter how big or small the recognition for them is.
Pickwick will always be a band that is near and dear to my heart. It was amazing to see them work their way up from festival to festival and then to taking the Main Stage! That is such a huge accomplishment for the group – for any group. With their Seattle fan base behind them and probably a few others, Pickwick was in good company yesterday evening. They played songs from their latest album and had everyone on their feet bobbing along to the songs and singing. Our dreamboat of a frontman Galen even referenced to the fact that Pickwick has been named a Seattle hipster band, but it didn’t seem like they minded. With songs that were versatile for just about anyone, Pickwick put on a solid show and I was pretty happy with ending my night with them.
Unfortunately, I was unable to make it to Sunday’s Capitol Hill Block Party, but I don’t think I would have survived if I did. I certainly don’t have the stamina that I used to in attending all three days of a festival! It was another great year, but as always, the music festival has taught me a few things that I thought I would share with you:
- If you’re going to offer to buy a group of girls their first drink, follow through with it.
- Don’t wear sandals.
- When tickets are sold out, they’re sold out
- If you’re wearing a backpack and going into the crowd; just know that no one likes you
- Find out where the bathrooms are and how you can get access to them
- The people working the festival should probably know where the press room is. Please and thank you from a press person!
